Apr
28
2010
I have a compost bin like a black plastic cylinder with a lid but no bottom…..how do I stop cockroaches?
Posted by admin in Question & Answers, tags: Black, bottom.....how, cockroaches, compost, cylinder, like, plastic, stopWith the bin came recipes of what you should combine food scraps with (some stuff from the garden shop) but I just threw food scraps in. This attracted cockroaches galore. Can ya spray insect repellant on the compost to deter cockroaches or if I had followed their recipe, would this have avoided that trouble? I didn’t put meat in. Just vege scraps and eggshells. I have abandoned the whole project now. Help please. I have lost the recipe.
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You’ll have to empty out the bin and sterilize it (1TBS bleach 1gal water) rinse very well and set out to dry for a few days. If you can set up a small fire pit around the area where the bin was and burn some wood this will clean up that area fine. Set the bin back up, poke holes in the sides (pencil size or just larger, several top mid and bottom) and avoid the food scraps in the next venture since you now know you have roaches nearby. If it’s just that you had a particularly warm summer, perhaps you could try again with the scraps except not in midsummer next time. You don’t want to use any toxins in the mix as these don’t transfer well back into the garden, foiling the point of it all.
http://www.eartheasy.com/live_natpest_control.htm#c
ooh this one is ‘food grade’ http://www.bugsrdone.com/
http://www.pestproducts.com/cedarcide.htm
I have no idea of the validity of these products
These people have concluded they are just bugs, turn ‘em into the soil when the compost is done. I suppose I had the same reaction as you when I read your question, but after reading this, I tend to agree with them. (unless you are in an urban area, the bin is very near your home and these really are household bugs.. )http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0916461518255.html